Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Maame by Jessica George

45 reviews

jesstele's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug use, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual content

kshertz's review against another edition

inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It took me a minute to get into this book into really understand this family. There is a lot of building up of different events in this person’s life so that you can understand everyone around them and that took me some time. But once I understood her more and her father, I was really interested in where the story would go. I feel like the story is extremely relatable for people trying to get a job right now and take care of themselves and their family at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Sexual content

thelibbyshow's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book. It’s been a while since a book brought me to tears, but this book did - in the best possible way. This was a pretty challenging read for me as it took me a while to get into the story and even then it took me much longer than I normally take to finish reading, but it was worth it in the end. What a poignant and moving story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders

meredith_williams_'s review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Maame is a beautiful portrayal of the duality of early adulthood.  From googling how to go on a first date to navigating the delicate balance between family duty and independence, I deeply related to so many of the main character’s experiences. I hope there is a lot more to come from this author! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

yoursaswell's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Abandonment, Racism, and Suicide

readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Thanks to Libro FM for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for a review .

This was such a compelling story with great writing and so much heart. I really liked Maddie, she felt so realistically flawed and nuanced and you could tell from the author's writing how much they care about her as a character. Even though she made mistakes and poor decisions, I couldn't help but root for her, and I was so pleased when she finally stood up for herself and spoke candidly to her mother and brother about their absentee behavior.   

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief

Minor: Abandonment, Racism, and Emotional abuse

narbine's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I just don’t care for sex scenes. And then men were trash (I know it’s on purpose but still). She had to deal with all these micro aggressions. But talking about death & grief had me crying, which shows a good emotional tug. I wondered if the main character was coded as autistic also.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual content, Death, Mental illness, Cursing, Grief, Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Suicide and Biphobia

maregred's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Toxic relationship and Drug use

coffeekitaab's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A heartfelt and deeply moving book on the joy and guilt of finding your own way in life. Jessica George writes from the heart. The tone of writing felt conversational, every character was sketched out so beautifully; some problematic and more complicated than others and yet necessary to the narrative to make you aware of the very real issues Maddie deals with on the daily. For a child singlehandedly caring for an ailing parent (her mother and brother shun their responsibility), then working and/or having a partner where there is  passive microaggressions when it comes to her race, lack or assumption of consent, toxicity, so many themes in this book and there is a sensitivity and nuance with which George makes clear that none of this is OK. Maddie's best friends are the light in her life. A true support system who have her back and let her know she is loved. I enjoyed watching Maddie learn and grow in this book. She is a beautifully flawed human being. . I could read Maame over and over again. An easy 5 star for me. Thank you Netgalley and @HodderBooks and @HodderPublicity for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Racism, and Vomit

javafenn's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I did not want to put this book down! My heart felt so much for Maddy, nicknamed Maame by her overbearing but well meaning mother. She is 25 navigating a very unsheltered world following her unsheltered life when an unexpected expected event occurs rocking her entire world. You feel all her curiosity and all of her grief. You can comprehend all her mid 20’s questions about life and how much she is unsure of herself. This book was so beautifully written and not focused on just the trauma of being a Black woman while also acknowledging life as a Black woman in todays age. I will definitely be buying the print version and reading again. Oh and the narrator was awesome!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual content, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, Medical content, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Gaslighting, Cursing, Abandonment, Biphobia, Drug use, and Suicide